Cash starved Longford students face uncertain future

“Rural students and the least well off are likely to bear the brunt of third level grant cuts and sink dozens of families deeper into the red, local politicians have warned …” (more)

[Liam Cosgrove, Longford Leader, 31 December]

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What mattered in 2010

“‘The future is already here, it’s just not evenly distributed’ William Gibson famously remarked. And in 2010, it did feel that the future crept a little bit closer. In the spirit of the season, it’s worth reflecting on what was significant in the longer term in 2010 …” (more)

[Robert Cosgrave, Tertiary21, 31 December]

Union Council Report three

“The past few weeks have been extremely demanding with a huge number of very challenging meetings and committees. Aside from the committee work I am engaged in hard lobbying of TDs and Senators to ensure a number of pieces of key legislation are passed before the dissolution of the Dáil, and also that some proposals vanish into the bin they deserve to be confined to …” (more)

[Aengus Ó Maoláin, 31 December]

Academic Economists to Consider Ethics Code

“When the Stanford business professor Darrell Duffie co-wrote a book on how to overhaul Wall Street regulations, he did not mention that he sits on the board of Moody’s, the credit rating agency …” (more)

[Sewell Chan, New York Times, 30 December]

Riots, reviews and results: Why 2011 will prove to be a steep learning curve for students and teachers

“In higher education, it was a rerun of the radical Sixties, with student protests over the plan to almost triple tuition fees allowing universities to charge up to £9,000 a year …” (more)

[Richard Garner, Independent, 30 December]

The Impact Factor

“… How do you come to accept that you don’t, and can’t, know everything? Each year I’m introduced to new articling students who I don’t think can top the previous year’s group, and every year I’m proven wrong. Yet, no matter how intelligent, and how keen, they are surprised by all the information they don’t know …” (more)

[Karen Sawatzky, slaw, 31 December]

Push to increase teaching load

“Madam, – Your Education Correspondent, Seán Flynn (Home News, December 29th) referred to a message I sent to colleagues in institutes of technology recently. He also quoted Prof Von Prondzynski, who is not from our sector, as saying that holidays in institutes of technology were ‘hard to defend’ …” (more)

[Paddy Healy, Irish Times, 31 December]

University debts

“As governments disinvest in higher education, and in the absence of student contributions, major financial issues will begin to arise. A few months ago the Principal of Glasgow University, Professor Anton Muscatelli, declared that the university would run out of cash by 2013 …” (more)

[Ferdinand von Prondzynski, University Blog, 31 December]

Encouraging high-tech development in a recession

“Ireland has an inventive history. As the Government makes some tough economic decisions, it needs to nurture this creativity and turn it into patentable, high-tech exports …” (more)

[James Dyson, Irish Times, 31 December]

Achievable and effective political reform through public access

“The release of the 1980 State papers in the UK and Ireland under the 30 year rule sees the media’s annual review of events past begin to fill column inches and airtime. Post-wikileaks and in post IMF/ECB Ireland, this now seems more like an established pageant with infotainment as a primary output …” (more)

[Dark Repository, 30 December]

University funds for children of fallen troops unveiled

“The government has given details of a university scholarship scheme for children of British servicemen and women from England, Scotland and Wales killed on active duty …” (more)

[BBC News, 30 December]

Cold, cramped, confined – occupational hazards for Kent’s sit-in students

“As the mist rolled in over Canterbury this morning, Jules Stephenson started to think about getting up. Around 9.30am, he crawled out of his sleeping bag, eased up off his lilo and turned his mind towards breakfast …” (more)

[Helen Pidd, Guardian, 30 December]

Third of students have tried legal highs

“The drugs, which are advertised as legal but are often packed with harmful substances, have been blamed for several student deaths and the Government has brought in new powers to impose year-long bans to take the drugs off the market pending a full review of their potential harm …” (more)

[Daily Telegraph, 31 December]

Sadness at passing of human rights champion

“Tributes have been paid to Professor Kevin Boyle – a founder of the Irish Centre for Human Rights at NUI, Galway – who died this week …” (more)

[Declan Varley, Galway Advertiser, 30 December]

The Research I University in 2031: A Dystopian Nightmare

“Using my handy ‘futures app’ on my new iPhone, I located a description of the R-1 University 20 years down the road. I’m listing here the most salient characteristics for your perusal. Turns out we’re wasting time with all this fretting about the future of higher education. Relax! The future is already determined! …” (more)

[Laurie Fendrich, Chronicle of Higher Education, 29 December]

Students plan more protests over tuition fees and cuts

“Occupation of university buildings and demonstrations planned as vice-chancellors are urged to limit tuition fee increases …” (more)

[Jessica Shepherd, Guardian, 30 December]

170 New ICT research jobs for Cork

“As a result of a €50m expansion programme, 170 further research positions will be created in the Tyndall National Institute in Cork, Ireland’s largest information and communications technology (ICT) research centre …” (more)

[Lynch.ie, 23 December]

Students are the perfect medical guinea pigs – I should know

“Taking part in experiments can be hair-raising and potentially lethal, but it gives you something to talk about at parties …” (more)

[Tim Skellett, Guardian, 30 December]

Scientific Method in Decline?

“… Science is a human enterprise. Mistakes get made. Biases exist. And yet, amazingly, science still works, which is really the only justification for its existence. Science is still the most powerful approach for manipulating and predicting the physical world, period …” (more)

[The Finch and Pea, 29 December]

Tuition fees protest: Archbishop of Canterbury urged to step in to end sit-in at University of Kent

“The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has been called on to help end a dispute between a university and students who are continuing three-week sit-in at the University of Kent in protest at rises in tuition fees …” (more)

[Daily Telegraph, 30 December]